NASA Optical Navigation Tech Could Streamline Planetary Exploration

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5 Min Read NASA Optical Navigation Tech Could Streamline Planetary Exploration Optical navigation technology could help astronauts and robots find their ways using data from cameras and other sensors. Credits: NASA As astronauts and rovers explore uncharted worlds, finding new ways of navigating these bodies is essential in the absence of traditional navigation systems like GPS. Optical navigation relying on data from cameras and other sensors can help spacecraft — and in some cases, astronauts themselves — find their way in areas that would be difficult to navigate with the…

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Stellar oddball: Nearby star rotates unlike any other

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A nearby star that’s similar to the sun in many ways is actually an unprecedented oddball, astronomers have discovered. The surprising star is V889 Herculis, located 115 light-years away in the constellation of Hercules. This otherwise sun-like young star spins in a way that astronomers have never seen before and could challenge our model of stellar rotation, which scientists had thought was well understood. Stars are roiling balls of superheated gas or plasma, meaning they don’t rotate like solid bodies. Instead, they display differential rotation; some layers move at different…

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SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronaut launch delayed to Sept. 24 due to Boeing Starliner issues

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SpaceX‘s next astronaut mission won’t get off the ground this month after all. Crew-9, SpaceX‘s ninth operational flight to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA, had been targeted to lift off on Aug. 18. But it has been pushed back to no earlier than Sept. 24, the agency announced today (Aug. 6). “This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory,” NASA said in an update this afternoon. Crew Flight Test (CFT) is…

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Doomed Star Eta Carinae

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Eta Carinae may be about to explode. But no one knows when – it may be next year, it may be one million years from now. Eta Carinae’s mass – about 100 times greater than our Sun – makes it an excellent candidate for a full blown supernova. Historical records do show that about 170 years ago Eta Carinae underwent an unusual outburst that made it one of the brightest stars in the southern sky. Eta Carinae, in the Keyhole Nebula, is the only star currently thought to emit natural…

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NASA to Provide Crew Flight Test, Space Station Missions Update

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The International Space Station was pictured flying 263 miles above the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA NASA will host a media teleconference at 12:30 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Aug. 7, to discuss ongoing International Space Station operations, including the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.   Audio of the briefing will stream live on NASA’s website. Agency participants include: Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station Program To ask questions during…

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Planets of Milky Way’s most common stars are less habitable than thought, dead NASA telescope reveals

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The most common stars in the Milky Way may be even less friendly to life than previously suspected. New research suggests that red dwarf stars, stellar bodies smaller and less massive than the sun, may blast their planets with intense ultraviolet (UV) light radiation flares that severely reduce their potential habitability. A team of scientists reached this conclusion by analyzing data collected by the now-decommissioned NASA mission Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). Launched in April 2003, GALEX scanned the universe in UV light, hunting for flares from around 300,000 nearby stars…

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Tundra Vegetation to Grow Taller, Greener Through 2100, NASA Study Finds

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Warming global climate is changing the vegetation structure of forests in the far north. It’s a trend that will continue at least through the end of this century, according to NASA researchers. The change in forest structure could absorb more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, or increase permafrost thawing, resulting in the release of ancient carbon. Millions of data points from the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) and Landsat missions helped…

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Collegiate Teams to Focus on Aviation Solutions for Agriculture in 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition  

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Students attending the 2024 Blue Skies Competition Forum toured NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.  NASA In the 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, the theme is AgAir: Aviation Solutions for Agriculture. NASA asks collegiate teams to investigate either new or improved aviation capabilities that could assist the agriculture industry by improving production, efficiency, environmental impact and extreme weather/climate resilience.  The agriculture industry plays a vital role in providing food, fuel, and fiber for the global population. However, it…

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Celebrate Heliophysics Big Year: Free Monthly Webinars on the Sun Touches Everything

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Learn Home Celebrate Heliophysics Big… Heliophysics Overview Learning Resources Science Activation Teams SME Map Opportunities More Science Stories Science Activation Highlights Citizen Science   2 min read Celebrate Heliophysics Big Year: Free Monthly Webinars on the Sun Touches Everything Once a month (usually on the first Tuesday), the Heliophysics Education Community meets online to share knowledge and opportunities. During the Heliophysics Big Year (HBY) – a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system, beginning with the Annular Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023, continuing…

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